Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I'm going to be filming a bunch of holiday-themed videos for a special feature on YouTube, and I'd love to know what kinds of things you'd like to see! I've done some fairly standard turkey, gravy, and stuffing video recipes, as well as a bunch of side dishes that work nicely around the holidays, like glazed sweet potatoes, but maybe you'd like to see something a little more exotic? Please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!

How about brussel sprouts? I think there are about 4 of us that love them, but maybe if you told everyone how amazing they are when prepared right, they could knock green bean casserole right off the holiday menu!

I am a college student. There was one time that a student brought in a crock pot with shredded turkey meat in it. It was the best tasting dish that I have ever tasted. Could you recreate this dish? The following link will lead you to a recipe image that the student gave me.

Chestnuts! What can I do with chestnuts besides roasting them on an open fire? (or in the oven). I would love to see a savoury recipe that really brings out the flavour of this holiday treat.Thank you!

anything with mushrooms, cranberries, winter squash or kale. Cookies to blow away the cookie exchange. Fruitcake. Gingerbread. Greenbean casserole. New Years pork roast. Using turkey leftovers. Im excited for the Holidays, can you tell?

My wife's tricky condition has kept her cravings going for 8 months now, and her latest desire is (you won't believe this): CREAMY mac&cheese - very important - not cheesy, but creamy in the full sense of that word. She is very excited for find out how you would recreate this dish to satisfy everyone's obvious need for the CREAMY part of the mac&cheese recipe. I hope my sCREAMs for help are desperate enough for you to consider looking into what can be done for all the men in the world facing a similar rage of women in need of creamy Mac&cheese. It is in your power to bring peace to these men through a single recipe - perhaps, it is your destiny. In any case, whatever you will decide to make, I am sure we will enjoy it as always! Thank you!

How about an old world classic...REAL EGG NOGG! We had a hot mug last year at a phenomenal restaurant here in Victoria BC and it was to die for. Please make the authentic adult version with all the booze too. Prohibition has been over for like... ever. The stuff we had contained three types of liquor, rum bourbon and something else I forget now. Pleeease make this one!

How about some simple, "I ate too much" recovery food recipes for the holidays like, great salads with maybe a cranberry/balsamic type dressing, or turkey salad with maybe dried fruit and nuts in it, or your best version of turkey soup. What about a festive chili that can be made in a crock pot.

I'd also like to have great recipes for Christmas Eve. Seafood, great desserts, appetizers?

By the way, the family says hi. They think they know you because you are perched on my kitchen counter so often on my Ipad as I listen to the videos while cooking. You and your recipes are a HUGE hit around here.

Hello Chef John, First, thank you for the great blog and videos. Second, for both you and Tracy, I love brussel sprouts, I have a very similar recipe to yours with the exception that I fry bacon and onions in the pan first, remove them, drain some of the fat then fry the sprout slices, after 60 seconds mix back in the onions and bacon and you have heaven!I would love to see a video for traditional mincemeat pie. I have a real aversion to it, I am not sure why, but I would love to see how it is made so that maybe someday I could attempt it myself.Sheila

I'm by no means a professional chef, but here's my personal experience with pumpkin pie made from a fresh pumpkin. I was similarly enamored with the idea of a pumpkin pie completely from scratch, so I made one a couple of weeks ago. Used a fresh local organic pie pumpkin. Although it was fun to do, it really was not worth the extra work taste-wise. The fresh pumpkin tasted pretty similar to the canned stuff. And especially after it goes in the pie with all those spices, any difference was covered up. So while I'd recommend doing it for the learning experience, I wouldn't expect a much different pie.

Chef John - Wikipedia says that seafood was a big part of the first Thanksgiving. Maybe some sort of seafood dish that would go well with the more traditional fare?

Every year our son & nephew do an extra stunt turkey outdoors. Sometimes they grill or smoke it or put it on a spit over a fire pit. One year they wrapped it in banana leaves & put it on a bed of coals. Turkey Day is cold here, but everybody loves running in & outside with beer or wine or champagne. A side dish or special dessert would be fun to get up & go see about too.

I love homemade eggnog, but people rarely serve it. It was a Christmas tradition in my house growing up.

One of my new favorite fall foods is roasted brussel sprouts. I add chopped up chestnuts when I can get them. A bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and into the oven at 425 until just getting brown on the edges.

Every Christmas my mother would make a cranberry English steamed pudding with brandy sauce. I remember the first time she made it. I thought it was going to be like regular Jello type pudding and was so surprised to see it was much more like cake. I haven't had it since she died and would love to make it. I even have her mold tucked away in a cabinet.

Every year we make "Buckeyes"(chocolate covered peanut butter balls) with my in-laws, but their recipe has paraffin in it(eww....wax?!) so I eat my curtesy Buckeye and that's all I can stomach, lol. I would love to see a non-wax version!

Hi Chef John,We have a frozen 6 pound Duckling whole with an orange sauce packet in the freezer. Any suggestions on how to cook this for a Thanksgiving dinner? Much appreciated. As always, we love your blog!Martin

I have a serious problem. Everywhere I go, they have Green Bean Casserole on the Holiday table. I love mushrooms, I love onions (especially french fried), but I HATE GREEN BEANS. This is above your average hate: the smell actually has made me physically sick.

I'd like to find a way to make this dish - since everyone loves it - but with a creative alternative to green beans. I tried making it with fresh steamed cauliflower one year, but nobody really liked it. :(

From my Scandinavian roots, a crown rib of pork, crusted with Dijon mustard and bread crumbs and roasted until golden brown. Soooo moist. Fill the center with buttery brussel sprouts. This is usually an Easter dish but certainly can work for any holiday.

If roasted lamb is on, be sure its marinated with lots of garlic, rosemary and olive oil for at least 2 days. Don't forget the mint sauce.

This is probably pretty simple, but during the holidays we always had couscous. I know making it is pretty simple, but what I loved was the flavor (olive oil and garlic is my favorite). If there's a home-made version (no flavor in specific, just something delicious that compliments other dishes) I'd love to see a recipe for it.

Hi Chef -- as a new vegan (3 months), I'd love to see some tasty holiday recipes that don't involve things like "tofurkey" ... recipes that combine healthy vegan ingredients with some of the traditional holiday flavours (e.g., grains, root vegetables, squash, sage, cranberry, etc.). I'm finding I can adapt many of your excellent recipes by substituting margarine for butter, soy milk for regular milk, etc., but I'd love to see what your fertile imagination could come up with around this particular challenge. Thanks Chef!!

Id love to see your take on a good brined turkey, ive seen brines before that use stocks and seasonings with the salt, as apposed to just water and salt.. Also, I MAY be doing a roast beef this year and would LOVE a recipe for really great yorkshire puddings! most recipes ive tried either A) are WAY to dense and dont rise or B) rise WAY to much and turn into more of a crunchy hollow shell.. OH I agree with everyone that said TURDUCKEN! I'm sure turducken has peaked everyones interest at one point! and maybe you could put a different twist on it! Incorporate a ham instead of a duck or something of the sort! All the popular holiday roasted animals in one dish! If anyone can do it.. you can

You mentioned seafood as an early Thanksgiving dinner. How about a nice fish stuffed with some other seafood goodies. Maybe some sort of drink too. You mentioned drinking as one of your favorite things to do. You've only 3 drink recipes? I think you don't really like to drink. Just kidding. Eggnog sounds great. How about Coquito? Anything is fine. Just keep up the good work Chef John.

I would enjoy a nice, fool proof how to on dressing (eats, not clothes). What I am looking for is super savory, no nuts or fruit that is firmish yet poufy and moist inside, but on top it is super crunchy and buttery flavory.

I also, since I am wishing, would like to see an appetizer that is not a cheeseball or that involves crudite, but is not too heavy (since all that is coming). Maybe do ahead?

I used to be able to participate in cooking a giant Thanksgiving spread with my parents, grandmother and sister, and I really miss that. My family moved away and we can't always get together for holidays. It's just me and my husband, here. He had a fairly troubled childhood, so I try to create warm family occasions for us. We never had kids, but that doesn't preclude us from wanting to have special holidays. I want to make a special Thanksgiving meal for us, but we can neither afford nor store nor eat an entire turkey. Furthermore, I'm 48 and cooking alone, and I don't have the stamina I once did to stand in the kitchen for hours and hours.

I'd like to cook a meal that is reminiscent of the signature Thanksgiving flavors, but scaled down for two people, affordable and with prep time that isn't an endurance test. Leftovers and freezables are fine - great even. I know this is a tall order, but I bet there are many couples, young and old, in the same boat.

I posted earlier about making a Thanksgiving meal for two, and said I don't have the endurance to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Just to clarify: I realize a Thanksgiving meal will take some time. I'm just thinking something closer to 2 or 3, rather than 6 to 8.

P.S. Love your videos. I came to you by way of your roasted corn salad.

Just read through all the comments so far. I like JoAnn's request for a crown rib of pork. Have seen these at the butcher from time to time but I have no idea how to deal with one. My holiday foodwish is to learn how to make toutiere. Do you have a great recipe? I love it with mango chutney on the side. Divine.

Aleatha, Hi, this is the anon poster from November 5, 2010 9:07 PM. If Chef John does not do your post - I'd like to suggest turkey legs for you and your honey or if you are white meaters then just the breast. You can brine the breast if you are worried about it drying. I do Thanksgiving over a few days (Like pie 3 days ahead, pre cut/cook mashers, chop onion and celery, yams... on THE day I am sitting back sipping cocktails!